The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I bought this badly damaged L-Door primarily for the parts. The cabinet has substantial water damage. I removed what parts I thought salvageable, but hate to throw the cabinet away. Two questions: 1) Does anyone want to restore this cabinet (free to pick up in Oklahoma), and 2) what is the plastic thing under the speed control? Thanks, Roy

That one would be a good project for someone who truly loves phonographs. I suggest some veneer or wood bleach to start taking the old water stains out, flatten the veneer, and fix it back up.

Look, if I can be a rank amateur and refinish a totaled Brunswick (with no $ value anyway) in a messy basement and get a passable result, a good restorer should make a real beauty out of this L-door. They get scrapped far too often methinks.

Lovely finish under the lid--but I'd say that outside should be a good candidate for some Minwax Stain and several coats of shellac. Shellac finishes are fun and easy to put on and look nice if you do them right.

toysbyroy wrote:I bought this badly damaged L-Door primarily for the parts. The cabinet has substantial water damage. I removed what parts I thought salvageable, but hate to throw the cabinet away. Two questions: 1) Does anyone want to restore this cabinet (free to pick up in Oklahoma), and 2) what is the plastic thing under the speed control? Thanks, Roy

I would think someone could use the veneer at the very least.

Just speculation, but I think the plastic thing under the speed control is there to change the speed control range. I had an L-door that ran really slow, and the round speed control only changes the speed so much. Putting the ring there probably changed the position of the speed control arm to bring the speed more in line with 78-ish.

I think it's wonderful for people to save a machine like this. It's not for me but if you enjoy the challenge, go for it.

Do save the tone arm. It's the same as many horn machines.

The round goofy thing is an attempt at a speed control.

the round speed control only changes the speed so much.

Actually it is quite adjustable. If you loosen the screw at the bottom of the unit, the part that comes into contact with the arm from motor will move up or down for additional adjustment.

Jerry Blais

When you look on the board and find two L-doors for $200 to $300 right now, I would think not.
In my opinion there are just too many L-doors around for the number of people that want one.
If you like a challenge I guess that is different. I think the parts would be better off on
better cabinet.

There’s an L door cabinet in NJ for $90 on Facebook market, perhaps you could pick it up and make another machine whole again. If someone really had the determination, that L door could be saved. It’s unfortunate that they’re only going for 200-300 anymore, I was under the impression that they were 500+.

There is no such thing as too many phonographs people!

Just because it's not worth money, doesn't make it junk. The profiteering aspect is the point of view of the vapid shabby-chicking housewives in my area who make antiquing a real pain.

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:There is no such thing as too many phonographs people!

Just because it's not worth money, doesn't make it junk. The profiteering aspect is the point of view of the vapid shabby-chicking housewives in my area who make antiquing a real pain.

No, but if you can but a parts machine for $200 or a complete, clean machine for $200, common sense says to get the "good" one.

This could be a great "guinea pig" for someone looking to learn cabinet repair techniques.

It would be hard to hurt it any more...

From my limited experience, if a cabinet is that deterioratinged on the outer surface, the underlying wood is probably delaminating as well. At some point, unless it is an historic machine, I think it is more useful as a parts doner. It depends on how much time and effort someone wants to put into it. Veneer is available and it may be a rewarding labor of love to someone or a challenging test of skill to another. It could be a learning experience or a team project. It could be restored just because it is a cool machine. The decision is yours.

A while back I bought a basket case Canadian Berliner that seemed hopeless, but for me it was a challenge that I found rewarding. It was partly so rewarding because of the encouragement and help that came from members of this forum.

I enjoy the stories of revival. I enjoy seeing the photos of the progress along with the before and after photos.

So my opinion is that if the underlying cabinet can be salvaged, then it is a good project. If the plywood is ruined, then maybe it is time to donate the usable parts to other machines.